<h2>Name</h2>
<p>
The Surah takes its name from the word <em>humazah</em> occurring in the first
verse.
</p>
<h2>Period of Revelation</h2>
<p>
All commentators are agreed that it is a Makki Surah; a study of its
subject matter and style shows that this too is one of the earliest
Surahs to be revealed at Makkah.
</p>
<h2>Theme and Subject Matter</h2>
<p>
In it some of the evils prevalent among the materialistic hoarders of
wealth in the pre-Islamic days have been condemned. Every Arab knew
that they actually existed in their society; they regarded them as
evils and nobody thought they were good. After calling attention to
this kind of ugly character, the ultimate end in the Hereafter of the
people having this kind of character has been stated. Both these
things (i. e. the character and his fate in the Hereafter) have been
depicted in a way which makes the listener automatically reach the
conclusion that such a man fitly deserves to meet such an end. And
since in the world, people of such character do not suffer any
punishment, but seem to be thriving instead, the occurrence of the
Hereafter becomes absolutely inevitable. 
</p>
<p>
If this Surah is read in the
sequence of the Surahs beginning with Az-Zilzal, one can fully well
understand how the fundamental beliefs of Islam and its teachings were
impressed on the peoples minds in the earliest stage in Makkah. In
Surah Az-Zilzal, it was said that in the Hereafter man's full record
will be placed before him and not an atom's weight of good or evil
done by him in the world will have been left unrecorded. In Surah Al-
Adiyat, attention was drawn to the plunder and loot, bloodshed and
vandalism, prevailing in Arabia before Islam; then making the people
realize, that the way the powers given by God were being abused, was
indeed an expression of sheer ingratitude to Him, they were told that
the matter would not end up in the world, but in the second life after
death not only their deeds but their intentions and motives too would
be examined, and their Lord fully well knows which of them deserves
what reward or punishment. In Surah Al-Qariah after depicting
Resurrection the people were warned that in the Hereafter a man's good
or evil end will be dependent on whether the scale of his good deeds
was heavier, or the scale of his evil deeds was heavier:In Surah At-
Takathur the people were taken to task for the materialistic mentality
because of which they remained occupied in seeking increase in worldly
benefits, pleasures, comforts and position, and in vying with one
another for abundance of everything until death overtook them. Then,
warning them of the evil consequences of their heedlessness, they were
told that the world was not an open table of food for then to pick and
choose whatever they pleased, but for every single blessing that they
were enjoying in the world, they would have to render an account to
their Lord and Sustainer as to how they obtained it and how they used
it. In Surah Al-Asr it was declared that each member, each group and
each community of mankind, even the entire world of humanity, was in
manifest loss, if its members were devoid of Faith and righteous deeds
and of the practice of exhorting others to truth and patience.
Immediately after this comes Surah Al-Humazah in which after presenting
a specimen of leadership of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, the
people have been asked the question: "What should such a character
deserve if not loss and perdition?"
</p>

